Top 8 Ways for Advertising Your Products

This article throws light upon the top eight types of media or ways you can use for advertising your products. The types are: 1. Print Media 2. Broadcast Media 3. Outdoor Media 4. Transit Media 5. Mail Media (Direct Advertising) 6. Speciality Advertising 7. Motion Picture Media (Advertising)—Cinema 8. Sales Promotion Media.

Way # 1. Print Media:

Print media includes newspapers and magazines.

(a) Newspapers:

Newspapers are usually classified on the basis of language, daily news­papers, evening newspapers and Sunday newspapers and some specialized news-papers. Most papers are the morning papers carrying news of that day’s important national and local events including business, entertainment, financial, social and sports activities.

The morning papers usually have a wider geographical circulation than do evening newspapers. Sunday newspapers has special sections for varied group interest besides the main week news. The circulation of Sunday newspapers is ordinarily greater than that of dailies although the rates are higher, the per unit cost is lower.

The Saturday and Sunday editions of the daily English newspapers have supplements and the circulation of these editions is more than the daily average circulation. Evening newspapers carry the morning and late light news. There size is small and at-least 3-4 evening newspapers are published from every city and metro. These have local circulation.

Besides these newspapers, specialized newspapers also publish especially from big cities and in metros. These newspapers are classified separately because they have a unique feature for newspapers due to their high selectivity in terms of type of audience.

They serve special groups of people who usually have some close and some common bond interest. For example, Ad Mac newspaper published from N. Delhi containing the various types of advertisements including classified, commercials, sale & purchase & others. Many are published by college for their students & staffs of their respective institution.

As earlier stated no newspaper medium is unique and the advertiser has to use the combination of various media to penetrate the market. Newspapers are read hurriedly and have shorter life although they reach all classes of people.

Advantages of using Newspapers:

1. They can be used effectively in a Co-operative advertising plan.

2. They have geographical selectivity.

3. They are one of the media in which great numbers of people look for information about merchandise they are about to purchase.

4. They provide intensive coverage of the cities and surrounding areas.

5. They are very flexible, and copy can be tied in with latest developments.

6. They reach all economic classes.

7. They await the convenience of the reader to read.

8. They are relatively low cost in comparison with other media especially audio visual.

9. They can emphasize the local news appeal.

10. They can be used effectively for test campaigns and to check results.

11. They can be tied in with the sales appeals in specific localities.

12. They can be used even when the advertising budget is quite modest.

13. They appeal to the entire family.

14. They are the major local medium for which readers pay.

15. They can be used on a daily basis.

Disadvantages of using Newspapers:

1. There are complex difficulties in selecting a satisfactory schedule of newspapers in a national campaign and in deciding which newspaper to use in a specific market.

2. When as extensive list of newspapers must be used, it may be more economical to use the low cost per thousand broad cast media for continuity.

3. For products purchased by a restricted class, there is considerable waste circulation.

4. Many newspapers employ publishers, representatives to represent them nationally, which results in the national advertiser having to place the advertising through an intermediary.

5. They are read hurriedly, and the impact of the advertisements may be relatively brief.

6. The paper and printing techniques may make them unsatisfactory for products that require special colour and other mechanical feature to show qualities of the product.

7. There are so many advertisements in some newspapers that it is easy for an advertisement to get buried.

8. There is overlapping of newspaper circulations in many sections of the country

Newspapers are read hurriedly and have a very short life, although they reach to all classes of people. An advertisement in the newspaper is usually read but once, with the average reading times estimated to be less than 200 seconds. In this short span of time, the appeal must stimulate the reader into action.

Buying Newspaper Space:

Buying newspaper space with the objective of getting the maximum utility out of the allocated budget is a specialized field in itself. National advertiser utilize the services of specialized advertising agencies. Newspaper advertising space is sold by the agate line or column inch.

The agate line is one fourteenth of an inch deep and one column wide. The width of the column differs according to the publication, but is usually about two inches. The column inch contains 14 agate lines. A flat rate is a rate of so much per agate line, regardless of the amount of space used or the frequency of use.

Most newspapers also have a contract rate, in which the cost per line decreases as the number of lines used in a year increases, or with the frequency of insertion.

If the entire page has 8 columns and each column has 300 agate lines then total 2,400 agate lines in a page. Total cost of display depends upon the circulation of the paper. A standard figure of milline rate is thus used, which takes into consideration both the circulation and the cost per agate line and is expressed as the cost of reaching a million people per line.

For example, let us assume that the paper charging Rs. 10 per agate line has a circulation of 7,00,000 while the paper charging Rs. 3 per line has a circulation of 1,500,000.

Then the milline rate is computed as follows:

Thus, the second newspaper is cheaper on a total circulation basis, of course, some other factors like geographic coverage and demographic profiles of raders should also be considered in the total cost structure. Newspaper advertising is ordinarily sold by the publisher on a run of paper or ROP basis.

Run of paper means the advertisement will be placed in the position in the paper that is most satisfactory to the publisher. The publisher naturally will attempt to use good judgment in placing advertisements, since the desire that the advertiser obtain the best possible results from his advertising.

However, except for certain special pages such as amusement pages, the newspaper representative will not make definite commitments as to the exact placement of advertisements at the time the advertiser places the insertion order.

If the advertiser definitely wants a special position in the newspaper, he can obtain it (assuming it is available), if he is willing to pay extra for it. Often times, however, it is possible to obtain a specially desired position without paying extra by merely indicating on the insertion order, “run ROP, this particular position requested”.

Then, if the advertising make up man finds it feasible, he will give the advertiser this preferred position at no extra charge, although the publisher still has the right to run the advertisement where he desires.

If the advertisers insists on a special position, he may secure it in most papers by paying extra for it at a preferred or full position rate. An example of a special position often offered by papers is “full position” which provides reading matter all across the top and down one side of the advertisement, or places the advertisement at the top of the column with reading matter down one side.

Such full position commonly costs from 25 per cent to 50 per cent above the ROP rates. Another commonly offered special position, for a usual rate of 10 per cent to 20 per cent extra, is known as preferred position. This guarantees reading matter all along one side of the advertisement. There are other special position available in most newspapers. These often include pages 2, 3 and 4 and the sports, society or women’s page.

(b) Magazines:

Magazines are the other form of print media, offer the advertiser advantages which in many respects are the opposites of those offered by newspapers. The Newspaper appeals to all people in a particular community; the magazine appeals to particular people in all kinds of communities.

The life of a daily newspaper ad is short—rarely more than a day. A magazine ad continues to “live” and produce results-for a week, a month, or longer as the periodical is read and reread not only by those who buy it, but by others who come in contact with it (both inside and out-side the home).

Although newspapers are limited in the quality of ROP reproduction, most magazines offer high quality paper and printing. The dead line for newspaper insertions is usually two or three days in advance of publication, but such flexibility is impossible with a magazine advertisement.

Few magazine dead lines are as short as three weeks prior to publication date, and some may be as long as two months. (The increased quality that goes into magazine production slows down the insertion process). The newspaper is primarily a local medium and the magazine is mainly national.

Different types of magazines are published for different types of customers e.g., women magazines (Savy, Femina, Star Dust etc.), professional magazines (Business India, AM Advertising Marketing, Business Today, Business World, Technocrat etc.), trade magazines (trade directories and others), general consumer magazines (India Today, Week, Illustrated Weekly etc.).

Magazines are published in English as well as in all Indian languages from different geographical areas for fulling the wants of various sections of the Indian society.

Magazines are unique in their service in that they communicate to a distinct group of common interest, even if the member of this group are widely dispersed. “Photography” magazine for example magazine that reaches most camera enthusiastists no matter where they are, nationally or even internationally.

Thus, the advertisement about a new and unique camera would be observed and noticed by prospective customers, wherever they are.

Additionally, because of the editorial environment, unique, informational articles or attractive photographs, people tend to keep magazines for a longer period of time and this level of permanence and attractiveness is exceeded possibly only by that of a book. This increases the chances of an advertisement being seen by a reader.

Buying Magazine Space:

As in newspapers the unit of measurement used is milline rate. In magazine the basis of comparison is the cost per page per thousand. The standard cost for the purpose of comparison is based upon the cost of delivering one full page black and white advertisement to 1000 homes.

The formula for cost per page per thousand circulation is cost per thousand = Page rate x 1,000/ Circulation

For example, if the rate for magazine X is Rs. 25,000 per black and white page and the net circulation is 10 lakh, the cost per page per thousand would be:

25,000 x 1,000/ 10,00,000 = Rs. 25 per page per thousand circulation.

In addition to the basic rate for advertisement calculated, a premium may also to be paid for colour or preferred position in the magazines. The rates for the magazines are negotiable also

Advantages of using Magazines:

1. Due to the high quality paper and improved printing, magazines offer the advertisers with the merits of quality printing, excellent pictorial reproduction and colour display.

2. Advertisements may be read more carefully and with greater depth of interest in magazine than elsewhere, both because magazines tend to be kept longer and some-times read repeatedly and because of the specialized character of their contents.

3. Magazines usually have a well-defined target market. They are considered largely class media rather than the mass media as newspapers.

4. Magazines have a long life and the readers read it at leisure.

5. Magazines has a secondary and further readership or pass along readership as a magazines are kept at home for the longer period than the newspaper.

6. Magazines generally have an aura of prestige, expertise and credibility because of the editorial support.

7. Magazines buying families are normally above average prospect and they are loyal to magazines to such an extent that they feel and identify themselves a distinct class.

8. Because of the high quality of paper in magazines, it is possible to use a variety of colours and mechanical techniques.

Disadvantages of using Magazines:

1. There is a necessity of buying space and preparing copy well in advance of the date on which it is to appear.

2. Since there is no daily news nor any urgent sales of products advertised in magazines people tend to read them at their leisure and thus reach tends to build up slowly.

3. Advertisers who do not have national distribution or wide differences in distribution and sales strength in different markets of the country, magazine advertising is a sheer waste.

4. As magazines are published weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly and annually, the advertiser cannot communicate his message to the prospects frequently as he can in case of other media like newspapers, radio, television, cinema etc.

Way # 2. Broadcast Media:

It includes:

(A) Radio or Audio media;

(B) Television media.

(A) Radio:

Radio is widely used by people to listen news, music and other programmes and radio is the medium which reaches now to every corner of the country. Today TV is popular among all sections of society urban as well as local. Main advantage of the radio is that it can be carried every-where. Because of its portable character, it is possessed by more than 90% of the population approximately.

Because of the nature of broadcasting and the distances the radio waves travel, there can be many radio stations in different areas so that every owner of the radio has many signals available to him and depending upon the technical sophistica­tion of the radio receiver equipment, the signals from long distances can also be caught.

The advertiser using radio must decide whether or not to use a sponsored programme. However, in recent years with the television taking over the main big show entertainment aspect of broadcasting, the number of sponsored programmes on radio have declined drastically.

For measuring the radio audience the percentage of the sample homes listening to the radio is calculated. Though a very large share of radio listening is done outside the home, it is difficult to measure the actual amount of listening. This audience can be measured by the use of personal interviews but it still makes extremely difficult the accurate determination of the size of the radio audience.

Buying Radio Time:

The advertisers can use the following approaches to buy radio time for different market penetration.

(a) Gross Rating points

(b) Cumes

(c) Cost per rating point

(a) Gross Rating Points:

For example 5% of the audience are reached with the message and 10 spots are used, the total gross rating points can be calculated as:

Gross Rating Points (GRP) = Reach x Frequency = 5×10 = 50 GRPs.

These 50 GRPs do not precisely define the reach or average frequency, since some members of this audience may hear the message once, some twice and so on.

(b) Cumes:

Also called unduplicated audience, cumes refer to cumulative number of unduplicated people who have been exposed to a commercial message after it has been run several times. For example, if the message is heard by 1,00,000 people who have been exposed to the commercial message after its several runs, here there would be so many repeat listeners.

Cume would be the number say 80,000 who have listened the message once and therefore 20,000 people are such who have listened the message twice or thrice. For example, if the total of 10 spots reached to 200 different people or an accumulated audience equal to 20% of the total 1,00,000 people available for the radio, so the cumes would be 20,000.

(c) Cost Per Rating Point:

The budget for the radio advertisers may be evaluated on the basis of cost per rating point as:

Cost Per Rating Point = Budget/Total Rating Points

For example if we assume that the 50 gross rating points and the cost of advertiser is Rs. 50,000, the cost per rating point is Rs. 1,000.

For the users of spot radio, comparisons can be made about the average cost per rating points in various markets using demographic break downs.

Advertiser examine a number of factors in the purchase of radio time. Initially to evaluate the advantages radio might offer over other media in terms of cost, type of audience, presentation of advertising, frequency with which the audience can be contacted, presentation of advertising and so on.

Once the advertisers have decided upon radio, other criteria should be evaluated in the purchase of time on specific radio broadcasting vehicles. Advertisers must examine the market and evaluate the socio economic characteristics of the population in terms of broadcast coverage.

To gain a clearer understanding of the audience, the advertiser should examine programme content, because the kind of programming by the radio station determines the audience.

Advantages of Radio Medium:

1. Radio advertising is much less costly than most of the advertising media.

2. Radio is flexible and timely. The advertiser can run as many commercials in an area or during a time period and news events and special occurrences can be aired on radio almost as soon as they happen.

3. Radio is a selective medium in the sense that the advertiser can advertise in only those markets he desires. He can vary his messages and the intensity of coverage of different markets to meet local conditions.

4. In the case of FM radio with its features of high fidelity music reproduction and static free reception, stations often develop quite a selected segment of the market with excellent music programming.

5. It permeates all economic and social strata, thereby reaching the masses.

6. In country like India, where literacy rates are low and so newspapers have limited significance, radio is popular both with advertisers and audience.

7. Radio is a personal medium that gives human touch as human voice is the most natural way for the people to communicate with each other which has warmth, persuasiveness, liveliness and dramatization.

Disadvantages of Radio Medium:

1. Limited commercial time available. Only 10 seconds time for the commercials is too less to retain and understand the message in one time.

2. Message is perishable. If the person is not listening to advertising message at the time of the broadcast, the message is lost for ever.

3. Radio advertisements is of little use to products that had to be seen and demonstrated because of no visual treatment.

4. Short commercials in the succeeding order form a commercial clutter making it difficult to have an impact on the listeners.

5. There are possibilities of distortion in communication. Precision of script writing is very challenging task.

(B) Television:

Television has exhibited the most rapid growth of any advertising medium. A major portion of the promotion budget is spend to advertise on television as now it has become a leading medium for national advertiser.

According to Nickles, “it is one of the most effective and efficient media for reaching mass audience. It has the potential for communica­tion action, sound, colour, emotion and demonstration better than any other non-personal medium. The wide spread use of colour television has given advertising a new dimension that greatly enhances the visual effects of commercials”.

Television is intense in nature, in the sense that it commands undivided attention and programme dedication of viewers and an eye catching commercial is easily noticed thus creating product awareness among TV viewers. Because of an inherent life like quality, the advertiser has almost infinite creative flexibility for this medium. That is one of the reasons why it is the medium of national advertisers.

TV appeals to both the senses sound as well as sight. As a result it combines the two to produce high impact commercials. Finally, the fact that a product or service is promoted on TV may build a prestigious image of the product and its sponsor. The pleasure derived from watching TV is at least transferable to the advertising messages delivered through the medium.

Types of TV advertising: Television advertising is commonly classified as:

(a) Network advertising

(b) National spot advertising

(c) Local advertising.

(a) Network Advertising:

The national network covers almost the entire country. In network broadcast, the programme and commercial originate at a central station or studio and from which the broadcast is send out to the other stations of the network. This obtains wide and simultaneous coverage of the country with the single telecast.

In India the network broadcasting starts at 8.30 p.m. daily or the national events like sports programmes are also broadcasted throughout the country at the same time.

The advantages of network advertising includes:

1. Even though the network time cost is high, it may actually be quite economical on the basis of cost per thousand viewers, assuming the distribution of the advertiser’s product parallels fairly closely the pattern of the network station.

2. Often they permit the production of top quality shows which attract large audiences and enhance the prestige of the advertiser, both with the consumer and the trade.

3. The arrangements for network advertising are much simpler than for spot cam­paigns, and the cost is lower on a network basis than it would be for the same time bought from the individual stations involved.

4. The network usually have the best hours for broad casting on the stations in the network.

Disadvantages of Network Advertising includes:

1. Programmes vary widely in their popularity in different parts of the India.

2. Some stations in the network may be relatively weak in their market areas. If the advertiser has weak distribution in some areas, he may not gain full benefit from some of the stations included in the network.

3. The advertiser usually must make fairly long and costly commitments on network advertising.

4. The show that carries a commercial must be the same for all markets, whereas the tastes of people do vary by areas of the country.

(b) National Spot Advertising:

All non-network broadcasting advertising, that which originates in the single station broadcasting it, is called spot broadcasting and spot advertising. Any such non network advertising paid for by a national (General) advertiser is “national spot” advertising. The advertiser who uses national spot advertising may use the sponsored programme approach or the announcement approach.

He may have a programme filmed or taped and then have it used on selected individual stations in the various markets he wishes to reach at the time he selects in each market or the advertiser may prepare his commercial announcements and have them aired during participation shows or during station breaks on the stations and at the times he buys.

In either events, he can buy the stations he desires in each market and the times he desires on each station.

The advantages of national spot advertising includes:

1. The advertiser can choose exactly which markets to cover with his advertising and can omit all others.

2. The advertiser can select different programmes for different markets and he can schedule his programme for which he considers the best time of the day and the best day of the week for each.

3. The advertiser can vary the commercial announcement itself for each market including the appeal used and the personality delivering the advertising message.

4. If the advertiser has a line of products, he can also advertise different products in various local markets as deemed desirable.

5. Spot advertising is flexible. The advertiser can gear the amount of advertising he places in any market to what he believes that the current situation demands.

6. The advertiser can meet varying seasonal needs easily with spot advertising.

(c) Local Advertising:

Local television advertising is done primarily by retailers. It may utilize programmes produced and sponsored by a retailer, or, it may be a network show which is sponsored in part by a local advertiser. It may be a syndicated series which a retailer sponsors.

Much of local advertising consists of spot announcements, and much of it co-cooperative advertising which is sponsored by the retailer but paid for in part by the manufacturer.

Ratings, Share and Audience of TV Programme:

The rating of a particular programme is expressed as the percentage of homes using television sets (HUTS). This rating reflects the percentage of all the homes with TV sets, and it does not matter whether they are all on or not at any given time.

On the other hand, share describes the percentage of TV sets that are tuned to a particular show on the basis of the total number of homes with TV sets that have their TVs tuned to it at that time.

For example, if 30 percent of all houses with TV sets had their sets on and 20 per cent of these sets were tuned into this show then the total audience “share” for the show would be .20 divided by 80 or 25 percent. Then, there is the audience of the TV programme which is determined by the total number of people who actually see the given programme.

The total programme audience is calculated by the following formula:

Audience = Rating x Number of homes with TV sets x Average Viewers per Set.

These indicators give advertisers a fairly good idea about the number of people that an ad will reach. Advertisers are equally interested in the media vehicle’s ability to reach a certain class of people who share common characteristics.

This would enable the advertiser to match the profile of the audience with the profile of the target consumer. Certain demographic studies of TV audiences are available which would indicate the types of viewers that can be reached.

Buying TV Time:

Television advertising is charged on the basis of time. The morning rate is higher than the day time advertising rate. Prime time advertising is costlier. The cost per 60 seconds is the basic structure. Advertising cost on Saturdays and Sundays is higher than on week days.

Commercials during the prime time i.e., 8.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m., are productive of better results for advertising. Therefore, advertising cost is higher during the prime time. The cost comparison is made on the basis of the cost per thousand (CPM)

Cost per thousand (CPM) = cost ×1000/No. of audience of the programme

Advantages of using TV Medium:

1. Television has a broad reach. It has the power to reach a great number of people.

2. Television has a deep impact. Television is a scientific synchronization of sound, sight, motion and colour. It is the personal medium that tries to involve the viewer by direct person to person selling.

3. Like radio, television is becoming a vehicle of mass communication. More and more people are going for television sets.

4. Television has the unique characteristics of the ability to demonstrate the operations and the utility of the product. This makes it the closest medium to personal selling.

5. Television has a great frequency. Unlike magazines, where the message cannot be repeated until the next issue of the magazine comes out, there is no limit to message repetition.

6. A TV campaign of a product or service is appreciated by the middle men. Television has more prestige than its competitive media.

7. Even though the TV media is very expensive media in terms of commercial production and air time, rupee for rupee, the cost per thousand viewers can be very low given the advantage of sight, sound, colour, and action. Thus, new products can be introduced, corporate images can be built and brand names can be established at the very low cost per viewer.

8. Like radio and newspapers, television is highly flexible and selective medium. It can be used locally, regionally and nationally.

Disadvantages of TV Medium:

1. Even though some demographic selection of TV coverage is possible, it is still basically a mass media. The result is a lot of wasted coverage as the message reaches people who are not the potential buyers.

2. Similar to radio advertising, the TV commercial is also highly perishable. It is not possible to go back and look at the commercial again as it is possible with magazine and newspaper advertising.

3. High cost of television advertising is another serious limitation. In recent years the rates have risen much faster and sharper than the newspapers, magazines, radio and outdoor media.

4. Television has been aptly described as ‘Idiot Box’. Unlike other media, except screen, it makes the prospects to sit and concentrate on the television screen and does not allow to do other work.

5. Television viewing is seasonal in nature. There is generally a decreased viewing during summer months as most people go out at hill places.

6. TV restricts itself to typical purchases. Detailed enquiries cannot come. It is difficult to note either the telephone number or the address.

7. TV commercials have to conform to a broadcast code strictly.

8. Television commercials are shown back to back and most commercials are about 30 seconds long, so that if there are ten or fifteen consecutive commercials at in case before chitrahar, no one commercial really stands out. Thus, retention of the message becomes a real problem.

Cable Television (CATV):

CATV stands for community antenna television and is popularly referred to as cable television. Originally it was introduced to provide good video reception for people who could not otherwise receive signals well. The concept of cable television is also changing.

Originally, it paid a copy right charge, picked up network and independent stations’ broadcasts and delivered them to homes that were wired for cable for a subscription fee. As cable systems grew in size and sources they acquired the rights to movies, television reruns, and sporting events which they transmitted to their subscribers.

These offerings usually took the form of pay television – subscribers paid a special fee for programmes without commercials. Other cable systems have specialised in narrow casting, such as 24 hour news or cultural programming. With the advent of satellite transmission, a small number of cable systems offer as many as forty or fifty channels, but such systems are scarce.

The future of cable television is still an open question. Two problems keep advertisers from flocking to cable systems:

(a) Limited audiences: and

(b) Lack of adequate audience measuring techniques.

Television industry experts think that advertisers will flock to cable when cable television is able to provide 10% per cent coverage of Indian homes. Although cable television appears to be emerging as a viable alternative to network programming, its growth rate is uncertain. Besides being a capital intensive industry, cable television involves considerable risk.

Advertising on Cable TV:

Advertising expenditure for cables is increasing day by day and the cable TV has opened up various avenues for the advertisers to promote their products. Most of the advertising currently on cable is in the form of spots sold to national advertisers on programming on networks.

Cable offers the opportunity to create innovative advertise­ments. However, because of the relatively small audiences on cable, only national advertisers uses this medium for promoting their products.

A particularly effective advertisement for cable is the infomercial, which offers a lengthy message including typical message information and provides the means for securing more information, a sample or the product or service itself.

Infomercial can be as long as ten minutes and have the advantage of demonstrating products more carefully. A disadvantage is that they tend to “wear out” quickly than conventional commercials because of their length.

Home Shopping Service:

Cable TV besides advertising provides home shopping service as ATN shopping, Asian sky shop on Zee TV etc. Most shopping channel programmes rely on impulse buying.

Way # 3. Outdoor Media:

Outdoor media is the most commonly used vehicle for advertising the products or services. It is the oldest form of advertising. The outdoor advertising includes posters, painted advertising and spectaculars. It is very useful device to reach the potential customers at the point.

Its significance has been increased in the last decade with the great increase in the number of automobiles and the amount of driving that people do (both in everyday life and on vocation trips), combined with the large suburban movement of the population and growth of suburban shopping centers. These trends have resulted in an increase in exposure of the potential customer to outdoor advertising.

Outdoor advertising is bound to grow with the extension in the network of national and state high ways, an increase in the number of automobiles in use, the dispersion of population to the suburbs, and the greater mobility of the people.

The more people travel, the more they are exposed to advertising messages carried by this medium. Outdoor media are national, and are available to any advertiser. He can purchase outdoor advertising space in almost any region of the country.

It reminds potential buyers of the product they wish to buy. In some instances, it also guides them to the point where a purchase may be made. The advantage of outdoor advertising is that it has the possibility of greater exposure. There are no big messages in outdoor advertising.

They are basically the shortest possible; but they are most eye catching – whether they are in the form of a sign or a symbol or a message in words. The message is to be read and understood is the matter of a few seconds; otherwise it would be a waste.

The ideal poster is one that uses symbols so universal that everyone recognises them at once. However, they must be capable of evoking response from the viewers and should remain in their memory

Forms of Out Door Media: Includes:

(a) Posters/Bill board

(b) Painted displays

(c) Electric spectaculors.

(a) Posters/Bill Board:

Out door advertising is mostly bill board advertising or poster advertising and it accounts for over 50% of the national out door sales volume. It consists of the advertisement painted on the sheet of paper, placed on a back ground.

(b) Painted Displays:

A painted advertising is more useful than posters because of its size and colour. The painting attracts people easily and converges the message effectively to consumers. It may be in the form of painted walls or hoardings etc.

Painted displays (Hoardings) have more life than the posters.

Painted displays are bought on an individual basis. The price varies with the size of the display and the position of the individual sign Usually, there units are designed and built to fit the special requirements of a specific location, so they vary in size.

The advertiser buy these on an individual basis, and the bulletin remains on display at the same location for the period of the contract. Each bulletin is priced on the basis of the merits of the specific location.

(c) Electric Spectaculars:

These are more popularly known as spectaculor signs. Spectaculors are non – standardised and large permanent signs that make use of elaborate light and action effects. Spectaculors are the most conspicuous vehicle of the outdoor media designed and placed to attract the largest number of passersby particularly during night time.

They are built of steel, beams metal sheets, plastic using bright and flash lights, animation movies, neon signs and colour. Latest techniques of painting and lighting are combined to provide special kind of illuminative effects. The rentals are for a period of 1 to 2 years at a stretch.

The strength of these spectaculors is evident in their dynamic and lively presentation of the message providing an atmosphere of wonder land and permanence. The limitations are—high cost involving dead investment and of operation. It needs a commanding height where sky— scrapers are most suited.

Principles of Out-Door Advertising: Following points should be kept in mind while going for out-door advertising:

1. The panel should be visible to motorists for as long as possible.

2. The message copy should be short, simple and legible.

3. They should be located at a spot where the traffic is slow moving. This would give the motorists greater opportunity to see and read the message.

4. The panel should be alone. If it is one of many panels at the same location, then it should be unique and stand out so as to have singular impact.

5. The illustrative material should be bold and colourful.

6. The angle of the panel should be such that it is head on to traffic. The worst location of a panel is one which is parallel to the direction of traffic.

7. The advertiser or the product name should be easily identifiable.

Advantages of Out-Door Advertising:

1. Out-door advertising is flexible because it can be located at any place depending upon the potential of the market.

2. It permits the use of colour in a very effective manner. It enables the advertiser to reproduce the product or package exactly as it appears on the store shelf.

3. It offers long life.

4. It has high usefulness because it reaches at very large number of customers. Since they remain permanently at the sight, there is possibility that some would notice it some time every day.

5. The cost structure is very reasonable. If the same poster is used nation wide, the cost of production becomes very low.

6. The advertiser can incorporate the names and addresses of his local dealers or agent at the bottom of the posters.

7. The medium offers a high level of geographic selectivity and market selectivity.

Disadvantages of Out-Door Media:

1. Product quality and uses cannot be total elaborately because of lack of space.

2. There is problem of getting the reliable data on the number of people who actually see the advertisement.

3. There may be a number of posters at any given location. This damages ecology and the environment and may have a negative effect on ecology conscious travellers.

4. It is considered a mass media and is not suitable for elite and exclusive products. It is not a medium of “snob” appeal.

5. It is difficult to reach an exclusive target market without door advertising. Except for areas of ethnic concentration or areas of economically upper class, further demographic selection is difficult to attain.

6. Billboards are meant primarily for travellers in cars. The price of cars and gasoline would affect the leisure style of the public and may cut down on non essential-driving, thus limiting the effectiveness of these messages.

Way # 4. Transit Media:

Transit advertising is popular and has grown to a respectable level compared to outdoor advertising. It is 3.3% of the total advertising business. It involves mainly advertising on the transport system or city bus, intercity buses, interstate buses, suburban railways etc.

Marketers use transit advertising to attain high exposure to a particular group – commuters on their way and from work and tourists. Repeat exposure is possible as a majority of people m our country use public transport on a recurring basis. Transport advertising is useful in reaching consumers at an advantageous point in time while they are embarking on a Shopping trip. This medium is a low cost medium.

Transit advertising is sold by specialized firms, and the rates are generally based on the number of vehicles on which, or the other locations in which, the advertising is to be shown Transportation advertising is often co-ordinated without door advertising, making use of the same or similar pictures and messages.

Advantages of Transit Media:

1. It offers a sure exposure and repetitiveness.

2. Transit advertising is essentially a low cost medium.

3. It has long exposure.

4. Transit advertising reaches a large population which is continually on the move.

Disadvantages of Transit Media:

1. Copy is limited. Ten to twenty words is about the maximum that should be used

2. Transit advertising reaches only that segment of the population who are passengers or in the vicinity of the vehicles as they move by.

3. Only the limited amount of advertising space is available.

4. Since the mass transit is only available in urban areas, transit advertising cannot be used to reach buyers in the rural and suburban areas as people in such areas use their own vehicles for transportation.

Way # 5. Mail Media (Direct Advertising):

Mail media is one of the oldest methods of reaching to the consumer. It consist of printed matter that is send by the advertiser directly to the prospect. This material is usually send by mail.

According to Willion H. Bolen direct advertising can be defined as, “advertising messages that are in some written, printed or processed form that are sent by controlled circulation direct to selected individuals”.

Direct advertising which primarily consists of direct mail advertising has the basic purpose of reaching the potential prospect without wasted circulation. Direct advertising sees that promotional information is deliver door-to-door or made available through counter displays in stores or distributed at block parties and social functions.

Direct mail advertising, also known as direct response advertising, is gaining ground as a advertising technique after newspapers and television is designed to solicit and obtain immediate orders or inquiries from a customer.

It has received a tremendous boost in the last few years due to the following reasons:

(a) The application of sophisticated computer methods for producing lists of names and addresses of prospective customers and the efficiency in filling orders.

(b) Ordering by mail benefits current life styles which are tuned to comfort and convenience.

(c) Wide spread use of credit cards that facilitates ordering at home.

Forms of Direct Mail: The direct mail advertising may take any of the following forms :

(a) Booklet

(b) Leaflet

(c) Catalogue

(d) Post card.

(a) Booklet:

A booklet is a leaflet running into several pages. When information is voluminous, the booklet is used to carry it. The booklet refers to the attributes of the product, the method of using and maintaining it and other relevant information pertaining to the product and the company.

(b) Leaflet:

A leaflet is a single printed sheet. It is used to explain the message fully. The printed leaflet running into a few pages may be inserted in an envelope bearing the requisite postal stamp.

(c) Catalogue:

The catalogue contains many pages. It is used as a reference book, and for a longer period. It is given to consumers free of charge. The catalogue contains a reply card which may be sent by consumers as a feed-back. It is sent only to real prospects.

(d) Post Card:

The post card can be used by printing the message of advertisement on it. Wherever the message to be sent to individuals is brief, the post card may be used. The advertiser can use his own paper of post card size, by affixing the prevailing rate of postal stamps on it.

A reply paid post card with the sender’s address can be used to get a response or feedback from the prospect. The franking machine for stamping purposes can be had from any post office.

The success of any direct advertising depend upon having the material go to the right people—those who are potential customers for the advertiser’s product or establishment.

In the case of direct mail advertising, this list of names of prospects is called the mailing list. Ideally, the advertiser would like to have the list that include all those people the firm wishes to influence with its advertisement—those who are prospects for its products or estab­lishment—and no others.

Advantages of Direct Advertising:

1. The potential consumers can be reached in a short period of time

2. Through the more personal appeal of direct advertising, the advertiser can correlate the appeal in many ways to national, class or trade advertising.

3. It is possible to divide the list into natural units and treat each unit separately.

4. There is a wide variety of forms available to the advertiser.

5. It avoids distracting completion for attention from other advertisements and editorial material.

6. The sales campaign is hidden from competitors.

7. If the right list of prospects is secured, there is limited waste circulation: each prospect receives the material.

8. There is a personnel touch in direct appeals. An advertisement on television or in a magazine is directed to a group; a letter or mailing piece is directed to one person either at home or in the office.

9. Advertising can be released at the right time; the advertiser can also take advantage of opportune markets, business conditions of unusual circumstances of any kind.

10. There is a wide variety of forms available to the advertiser.

11. It is most flexible of all media.

12. Returns can be keyed more effectively than in general media because there is better control of the distribution of the material.

Disadvantages of Direct Advertising:

1. It is often difficult to obtain good mailing lists, and it takes a great deal of effort to keep a mailing list up to date and accurate.

2. Direct mail also requires careful preparation in order to ensure readership, since there is no editorial material or programme to aid in obtaining attention and interest. Thus, specialised skills are required by those preparing direct mail advertising.

3. In terms of the cost of reaching a thousand people, it is a high cost medium. This feature can, of course, be offset by the careful selectivity of the mailing list and by the effectiveness of the results obtained.

4. Among some people, direct mail has some poor reputation and has been referred to as “Tunk” mail. This is usually the result of much direct mail being sent to people who are not good prospects for the item or service involved.

5. If the mailing list is not carefully selected, there may be low readership and interest.

Way # 6. Speciality Advertising:

Specialities are useful items containing promotional messages (names, trade-marks, slogans and/or statements) that are given away free to a target audience. Unlike premium, which is a form of sales promotion, specialities contain a message and do not require the recipient to make a purchase. The use of these items is referred to as Speciality Advertising.

Speciality advertising is not a major medium, but a supplemental promotional effort that can enhance publicizing product information, improving public relations, enlivening the impact of direct mail, promoting branch openings, introducing sales representatives, or merely saying thank you.

There are over 10,000 different speciality advertising items that are commonly offered through the industry: calendars, writing instruments, business gifts, and other imprinted specialities (for example, coffee mug, key chains and T-shirts).

Advantages of Speciality Advertising:

1. It is readily identifiable with specific advertisers since it usually carries their names, slogans, trade marks, and occasionally messages.

2. Specialties may lost a long time and provide frequent exposures at favourable locations, such as point of purchase.

3. In essence it is a direct medium under the control of advertisers who preselect their audiences.

Disadvantages of Speciality Advertising:

There are some notable drawbacks to Speciality advertising.

1. Because of space limitations the size and extent of the message delivered is limited; frequently Speciality advertising carries no more than an advertiser’s name and address.

2. It is high-cost-per contact medium and, therefore, cannot be used to reach mass audiences.

Way # 7. Motion Picture Media (Advertising)—Cinema:

Motion picture advertising is occasionally designed as a supplementary medium that reaches the trade and consumers. Similar to television, motion picture advertising offers an advertiser the combination of sound, sight movement and the possibility of undivided attention.

The problem unlike commercials, on television, is in securing acceptable distribution. There are two types of distribution for advertising through films—theatrical and nontheatrical. Nontheatrical distribution requires that advertisers build audiences for their films by securing the co-operation of Schools, Churches, Clubs or Lodges.

Theatrical advertising is seen most frequently in small town theaters, where advertising for national advertisers or local business will appear on screen between films. It may also be seen in larger cities at drive in theaters. It is used by practically any kind of local advertiser and by national advertisers of such items as automobiles, jewellery and watches.

Way # 8. Sales Promotion Media:

(a) Point of Purchase Advertising:

Point of purchase advertising include all advertising material—signs and displays placed in, on, or around retail stores (excluding the labels, packages, or containers of the merchandise itself). Various other terms are sometimes used such as dealer displays, dealer aids, and point-of-sale materials.

Point of purchase is now the more generally used inclusive term, since it tends to put the emphasis on the consumer or buyer rather than on the dealer or seller.

In recent years the point-of-purchase medium has become increasingly important in the advertising picture. The trend to self-service and self-selection at the retail level has made it more important for the manufacturer to have some means of bring its product to the attention of the consumer at the point where the final purchase is consummated.

Since in many instances there is little or no personal selling, the manufacturer feels it must try to get its final suggestion or sales story to the prospective customer at the point where the buying decision is being made through some type of advertising display.

Point of purchase advertising may takes the following forms:

(a) In-store commercials

(b) Counter displays

(c) Display, stands and racks

(d) Window displays.

a. In-Store Commercials:

These are audio visual displays of merchandise shown on TV sets hung from the ceiling, usually over check-out counters. For example, the use and operation of an electrical appliance in a video-display, might induce a customer into buying the product. The actual colourful exhibition of a product, stimulates impulse buying.

b. Counter Displays:

These can range from elaborate cut outs or posters on the interior walls of the store of put up as displays cards at the selling counter of a department store, to an eye-catching arrangement of merchandise on the counter. Some impulse buying items like chewing gum or mint or some magazines are often displayed.

c. Display, Stands and Racks:

These display stands can usually be rotated by the customers, neck ties are generally displayed on rotating stands. Book stores often feature paper backs this way. Merchandise racks for many items are placed on the floor. This is typical when displaying greeting cards and magazines.

d. Window Displays:

These attract passing pedestrians, sometimes attracting them into the stores. Window displays provide the customer with the first impression of the quality and style of the product inside the store as well as the store itself. Accordingly, the window displays should be highly attractive and should be periodically changed.

Advantages of Point of Purchase Advertising:

1. The basic purpose of point-of-purchase advertising is to stimulate impulse buying.

2. The manufacturer has in mind in using point-of-purchase advertising is to influence the dealer to stock the merchandise and co-operate in increasing the sale of the merchandise through its effective display.

3. The advertising firm uses point-of-purchase as a part of its entire advertising and promotion programme, to increase the sale of its brand of merchandise. But specifically the advertiser wishes to have this form of advertising, in use so that it will remind the shopper of its product and brand at the moment he is in the store at the point of buying.

Disadvantages of Point of Purchase Advertising:

1. One of the major problems with point of purchase advertising is the competition for strategic place. The location of the display, in addition to the design is crucial to the success of the advertisement. The design of the display should be highly creative and eye catching.

Considerations and Criteria and use of Point of Purchase Advertising:

One of the main problems the advertiser faces is to create point-of-purchase materials that will be effective in maintaining to the point of sales the message and the brand image created by the mass media advertising, and which will stimulate impulse and reminder buying by prospective customers.

A number of factors should be considered in developing this material. These include:

1. The material should give the product information briefly and succinctly. The customer should be able to get in a glance all the information about the product.

2. The appeal should create the impression that the product advertised is of good value. Buyers are trying to make their amounts go as far as they can. As a result, the appeal stresses this fact will result generally in greater impulse sales.

3. The material must attract attention and must compete effectively in the store to catch a prospective buyer’s eye and hold it. Design, shape and colour are methods which can be used in attaining this objective.

4. The material must be attractive enough to deserve a preferred place in the store. Because of the competitive battle for space in the store, material that adds to the beauty of displays and the like is much easier to get into a position where it will have a maximum chance to be seen by the customers.

5. The material must build confidence. It must convey accurately the correct product image, and indicate that manufacturer is reliable.

6. The material should create the proper atmosphere for the product. It must be appropriate and suitable. Depending on the company whose products the point-of- purchase advertising is attempting to sell, it may be humorous or sophisticated, traditional or modern.

(b) Trade Shows:

To influence channel members and resellers in the distribution channel, it has become a common practice for a seller to participate in a trade show, exposition or convention. These shows are often organised by an industry’s trade association, and may be part of the association’s annual meeting or convention.

Vendors serving the particular industry are invited to the show to display and demonstrate their products for the association’s members. An example is trade fair, book fair, automobile fair etc. Trade shows are elaborate, and reach retailers as well as individual consumers. Most marketers find demonstrations at these events particularly useful in promoting new products or product innovations.

(c) Sampling:

Sampling is a procedure by which a sample of the product is given to prospective consumers so that they can test the product, on the assumption the product “will sell itself’, if once used.

There are four general types of sampling:

1. Delivered package.

2. Sent directly in answer to advertising coupons.

3. Delivered through co-operation with dealers.

4. Sold through dealers and vending machines.

Delivering samples from door to door is one of the oldest forms of sampling. The any new item distributed to the home is the center of a family discussion. P & G at the launch stage in 1996, distributed the sample pouches of their Pentene Shampoo to homes so that the consumer should use it once to know the quality of its shampoo. Almost any good distributed from door to door receives attention.

As the cost of samples delivery expenses tend to be high, It is sometimes advisable to use advertising to prepare a reception for the sample. Regardless of the cost, with many products like detergents, shampoos, toothpaste, house to house sampling can still be a profitable means of advertising.

One of the methods of sampling that has been tried in many different ways is that of supplying samples for retailers to give to their customers. This has been criticized because some dealers may sell the samples instead of giving them away.

Some advertisers do not object to this. They say that the purpose of the campaign is attained, and perhaps those who pay for the samples use them with greater care and appreciation Samples can be given out by demonstrators in the stores.

Another form of sampling which has worked out well in some fields is selling a small package of the product. Vending machines also may be used in a limited way to distribute sample of low unit value. To arrange with dealers to redeem coupons which are used either or national or local advertising media is a common practice.

In past years, a few advertisers have taken advantage of dealers by advertising that a dealer would supply a free sample or one at a reduced price on presentation of a coupon (e.g. Pepsi scheme of returning the coupon & getting the 300 mL Pepsi bottle/rea of cost). However, the advertiser who uses this form of advertising should give the dealer sufficient notice so that he will be familiar with the campaign.